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Chemical Reaction Engineering Module

New App: Membrane Dialysis

Dialysis is a widely used chemical species separation method. One such example is hemodialysis, which acts as artificial kidneys for people with renal failure. In dialysis, only specific components are allowed to diffuse through the membrane, based on differences in molecular size and solubility.

The Membrane Dialysis app simulates a process for lowering contaminant concentration in a fluid. The device consists of a hollow fiber module, where the walls of the hollow fibers act as a membrane for removing the contaminant.

Results from this app can aid in selecting membrane materials, dimensions of the fibers, and operating conditions.

Graphical user interface for the Membrane Dialysis app showing the contaminant concentration in the fiber.

Graphical user interface for the Membrane Dialysis app showing the contaminant concentration in the fiber.

New App: Liquid Chromatography

High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is a common method of separating, identifying, and quantifying each chemical compound in a mixture. HPLC is found in the pharmaceutical, biotech, and food industries.

The Liquid Chromatography app simulates the separation of two species within a generic liquid chromatography column.

Simulations can help pinpoint design elements of chromatography columns and component separation details. This includes the length and porosity of the column and the specific conditions of the two components, including their Langmuir isotherm. All of this can be changed within the app.

Graphical user interface for the Liquid Chromatography app showing the concentration of both components at 120 seconds.

Graphical user interface for the Liquid Chromatography app showing the concentration of both components at 120 seconds.

Editable Species Reaction Rates in Species Nodes

With COMSOL Multiphysics version 5.2, you can easily change the individual reaction rate of a species directly in the Species node of the Reaction Engineering interface. The entered expression overrides the rate definition set up by the Reaction feature, which follows the mass action law by default. In previous versions of the software, you edited species reaction rates in the equation view, which could require additional sources for compensation.

Improved Import of Experimental Data for Parameter Estimation

The Experiment feature of the Reaction Engineering interface can now convert the unit of the imported data used for parameter estimation. Use the Weight option to control the importance of each data type during optimization.

Improved Equilibrium Reaction Functionality

For equilibrium reactions in the Reaction Engineering interface, a Suppress negative concentrations check box has been introduced to aid the solution of equilibrium systems. Selecting the check box ensures that no negative values of concentrations are accepted as solutions to the equilibrium condition.

Molar and Millimolar Concentration Units

Molar (M (moles/l)) and millimolar (mM (mmoles/l)) have been added as units to specify concentration, in addition to the SI unit moles/m3.

New Tutorial: Fermentation in Beer Brewing

During the beer fermentation process, alcohol and various flavors are formed together when sugars are transformed by yeast.

In this tutorial, the fermentation process is first modeled in a perfectly mixed tank with the Reaction Engineering interface. In the next step, a space-dependent detailed tank model is simulated, accounting for mass transfer, heat transfer, and natural convection.

You can study the impact of initial sugar content, temperature, and yeast type on the fermentation process.

The Fermentation in Beer Brewing application includes many results including the percentage of alcohol per volume (0D) and the maltose concentration(3D).

The Fermentation in Beer Brewing application includes many results including the percentage of alcohol per volume (0D) and the maltose concentration(3D).